Lewis Worthington Smith
by George J. Dance Lewis Worthington Smith (November 22, 1866 - December 27, 1947) was an American poet and academic. Life Smith was born in Malta, Illinois, the son of Sarah Elizabeth (Lewis) and Dwight A. Smith. He earned his undergraduate degree at Beloit College, and then earned a Ph.D. from Fairfield College. He did graduate work at the University of Nebraska, and Cotner University in Nebraska.Biographical Notes, Smith, Lewis Worthington, 1866-1947, Social Networks & Archival Context, Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, University of Virginia. Web, Aug. 2, 2015. In 1897 he married Jessie Belle Wellborn, who bore him one daughter, Marjorie.Bobby Grittith, "Lewis Worthington Smith," Drakeapedia, December 2, 2011. Web, Aug. 2, 2015. In 1901 he joined Tabor College, Iowa, as a professor of English. The following year he became a professor, and head of the English department, at Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa. For the next 38 years he taught English at Drake, where he also founded the English Club and established a campus chapter of the national writing fraternity, Sigma Tau Delta. He became Dean of the Graduate Division in 1938. He was a prolific writer, publishing over two dozen books and numerous articles, poems, and plays during his career. His works appeared in national publications such as the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, and New York Times. He retired from Drake in 1940. He died aged 81 after struggling through a long period of failing health. Writing Smith has been described as a versatile master of technique, whose writing is also vivid and vital; able to not sacrifice thought to form, or rhythm and rhyme to the follies of free verse. In the History of Drake University, he was called "One of the writers of verse in the past third of a century who has dared to ignore the fatuous of the modern faddists. His verse has a lyrical quality superior to Sidney Lanier and is far richer in thought and perfection of form. He is as musical as Poe, with far more substance and spiritual vision." Publications Poetry *''God's Sunlight''. New York: Crowell, 1901. *''In the Furrow: Poems. Des Moines, IA: Baker-Trisler, 1902. *''After a Quarter Century, and other poems. Des Moines, IA: Drake University, 1906. *''The English Tongue, and other poems. Boston: Four Seas, 1915. *In Sunday's Tent. Boston: Four Seas, 1916. *Ships in Port. New York & London: Putnam, 1916. *''Crises: Poetic broadcasts of the contemporaneous. Boston: B. Humphries, 1945. Non-fiction *''A Modern Composition and Rhetoric: Complete course, containing the principles of correct, artistic and effective English for schools'' (with James Eames Thomas). Boston: B.H. Sanborn, 1901. *''The Writing of the Short Story. Boston: D.C. Heath, 1902. *''The Mechanism of English Style. New York: Oxford University Press, 1916. *''The Sky Line in English Literature'' (with Esse V. Hathaway). New York: Appleton, 1920. Edited *Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Princess: A medley. Boston: B.H. Sanborn, 1899. *''Current Reviews''. New York: Holt, 1926. *''Short Stories for English Classes''. Philadelphia & Chicago: J.B. Lippincott, 1928. *''Women's Poetry Today'' (with notes by Alice Carey Weitz). New York: G. Sully, 1929. *''Ventures in Contemporary Reading'' (selected with Vincent Holland Ogburn & Harold Francis Watson). New York & London: Longmans Green, 1932. *''Types and Times in English Literature''. Oklahoma City, OK: Harlow, 1940. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Lewis Worthington Smith, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Aug. 3, 2015. See also *List of U.S. poets References External links ;Poems *Smith in Poetry: A magazine of verse, 1912-1922: "Aglavaine," "Driftwood" ;Books *Lewis Worthington Smith at Amazon.com ;About *Lewis Worthington Smith at Drakeapedia Category:1866 births Category:1947 deaths Category:20th-century poets Category:American academics Category:American poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Beloit College alumni Category:Drake University faculty